


Expectations!  The Journey Begins

by aquariuslover



Series: Expectations! [1]
Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, Star Trek, Super Junior
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-03-31 17:56:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13980411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquariuslover/pseuds/aquariuslover
Summary: Summary: While stranded on a strange planet the captain of the Starship Expectations encounters a remarkable being, and he soon finds himself bound to it in more ways than one.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This story is inspired by Star Trek. The crew of the Expectations will be made up of members of DBSK and Super Junior. This story will be broken up into adventures and each adventure might have several parts. As the story progresses members of Infinite, SHINee, f(x), Big Bang, SNSD, and BTS will appear.
> 
> I started this story seven years ago...

“Captain, just a little farther,” the calm voice of Kyuhyun, his second in command, told him over the communicator.  Yunho looked around his harsh surroundings. The planet that he was stuck on was not exactly pleasant for two reasons.  First, most of it was covered in a thick forest of trees that had sharp thorns that he had to be on constant guard against; and second, the Zusaders, the indigenous beings of the planet, were some of the ugliest and meanest sons of bitches he had ever come across. They looked like the wild boars of earth, except they were about seven foot tall, weighed over three hundred pounds, and walked on two feet.  
  
  
  
Yunho did not regret his actions a week ago when he had saved his away team from a life of slavery on a mining colony, but he really wished he had managed to escape with them. Instead, he had been forced to depend on the mercy of a rogue trader who had ended up stranding him on this awful planet.  
  
  
  
  
“How much farther, Lieutenant?” Yunho couldn’t help but ask as he wished for the hundredth time that he had eyes in the back of his head. He could hear Zusaders snorting happily in the distance…and he’d rather not know what made a Zusader snort happily.  
  
  
  
  
“Captain, approximately fifty feet farther and we will be able to beam you up. I would suggest you hurry; in approximately ninety seconds the window will be closed, and I am unable to estimate when…or if it will open again,” his science officer, Changmin, pointed out. Yunho could hear the worry in his voice.  
  
  
  
  
“That should be no problem. I will need a full....” Yunho stopped suddenly as he heard a voice cry out in pain. The voice didn’t belong to a Zusader, but it came from the direction of their happy snorting. Yunho instinctively turned around and went in the direction of the pain-filled cry. He sped up when the crying increased. Whoever was screaming was obviously in a great deal of pain.  
  
  
  
  
“Yunho, what are you doing? You have to get to the beam site, now!” Changmin’s demanding voice broke out from the communicator, showing his displeasure with the change in route.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho sighed as he headed in the direction of the pain-filled voice. “Lieutenant, what have I repeatedly told you? You should call me Captain, and not by my first name. It’s disrespectful. You will just have to figure out some other way to get me off this planet. Somebody needs my help.”  
  
  
  
  
“Captain, return to the beam site, now. I am not…” Changmin’s voice died away. Yunho knew the window must have closed leaving him trapped on a planet with nasty hog people, with no way of getting off it, or any way of communicating with his ship.  
  
  
  
  
The voice that had been screaming out in pain earlier grew fainter as the happy snorting increased. Yunho frowned and increased his pace; he pushed through the brush and paused as he came upon a clearing. Anger filled him as he looked upon a horrific sight. In the middle of the clearing was a pole with a beautiful blonde woman tied to it. Her hands were bound together above her head and she was wearing a loose fitting white dress that was covered in blood. Five Zusaders surrounded her, each with long whips in their hands. They each took turns beating her.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho cursed the planet as he reached down and grabbed a big stick. The ionized atmosphere of the planet that prevented him from beaming back to his ship and disabled his communicator also prevented his phaser from working. Five against one was never good odds, especially when you were outweighed by a good fifteen hundred pounds. When one particularly nasty looking Zusader started beating the defenseless woman again, Yunho’s protective instincts cancelled out his common sense, and he ran into the clearing ready to take them all on.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
************  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong had never known such pain in all his life. The lashes that tore his once perfect skin burned with the fiery poison that the whips had been laced with. His mind was a fog as his body tried to fall into a healing sleep, but each strike of the whip woke him and prevented him from healing himself.  
  
  
  
  
He hated ZhouMi with the heat of a thousand suns for putting him on this wretched planet and unleashing the Zusaders on him. The Zusaders were a primitive people and their minds were immune to his telepathy if they kept a distance of five feet from him. He knew the sacred vows of his people kept him or any of his people from killing anybody with their mind if it was not done for the protection of their bondmate or their children, but if a Zusader came close enough he would be sorely tempted to tear its mind into pieces.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong prayed he would just lose consciousness; the pain was too much…just too much for him. He body was not used to pain, and it was overwhelming him. He was deep in his pain-filled misery when his mind latched on to another presence. Jaejoong’s eyes flew open as he looked past the Zusaders and saw a human male dressed in a red uniform approach them from behind with a big stick and start attacking them.  
  
  
  
  
Was this human mad? How could he possibly think he could take on these five adult Zusaders? Jaejoong cursed his weakness. If he had sensed this human’s presence earlier, he could have sent him away. Now the human was doomed. Although Jaejoong was suffering horribly, he would not die. The Zusaders would eventually take a break from beating him and Jaejoong’s body would heal itself enough to keep him alive. The beatings and the pain would go on and on for Jaejoong.  
  
  
  
  
The human was doing remarkably well against the Zusaders, Jaejoong had to admit, but the poor man had taken enough swipes from the lethal poisonous whips to be doomed. Jaejoong found his mind latching on the man’s mind and was amazed by his determination and courage. The beating of Jaejoong had stopped while the Zusaders focused on the man, and Jaejoong’s mind cleared enough for a plan to form.  
  
  
  
  
_“Push them closer to me,”_  Jaejoong sent out a message telepathically, willing the man to follow his orders. The man looked up at Jaejoong and their eyes met.  _“My telepathy only works against them if they are within five feet of me.”_  
  
  
  
  
The man nodded his head in understanding and Jaejoong watched patiently as the human changed his fighting technique to focus on one Zusader until he pushed it into Jaejoong’s telepathic range. Jaejoong broke into the Zusader’s mind; confusing it and making it believe that the other Zusaders were its enemies. The Zusader turned on the other four with a snarl as Jaejoong’s mental commands overrode everything it knew. The other Zusaders were so shocked by their companion’s betrayal that they forgot the human they were fighting against. The Zusader under Jaejoong’s mind control pushed another Zusader into the reach of Jaejoong’s telepathy and Jaejoong quickly did the same to him. Jaejoong sighed in relief as the Zusaders fought against each other, leaving the poor human alone. He closed his eyes as his body once again tried to slip off into the healing sleep.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong’s eyes fluttered open as he felt someone tugging against the ropes that bound his hands above his head. He felt his weakened legs give way under the weight of his body as his arms were freed. The man who had untied him easily caught him. The man stared down at him, telling him in a voice full of confidence, “I am Captain Jung Yunho from the Starship Expectations, and I am here to save you.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong’s eyes closed; he was unable to say anything to the man….to the captain who had saved him. He felt his body being lifted up into the captain’s strong arms as the healing sleep pulled him under.  
  
  
  
  
******************  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Commander Cho was hurrying down the corridor on his way to the science lab where Lieutenant Jung waited for him when the Chief of Security stepped in front of him and halted him. “Sungmin, I am in a hurry.”  
  
  
  
  
“I know, but what I have to say won’t take long,” Sungmin said, hurrying to keep pace with the commander who had stepped around him continuing on his way.  
  
  
  
  
The commander frowned as he reached the elevator. “If it doesn’t have to do with getting the captain off that planet then I’m not interested.”  
  
  
  
  
Sungmin reached out and grabbed the commander’s arm. “Kyuhyun, have you thought any more about moving in together?”  
  
  
  
  
Kyuhyun jerked his arm free of the other man as the elevator started to open. “No, I have not. I am thinking of the Captain being stuck down on that planet full of hostile aliens.”  
  
  
  
  
“And I’m not?”  
  
  
  
  
“Apparently not. I have no intention of ever living with you…is that what you want to hear? Can I make it any plainer?” Kyuhyun snapped at him, not bothering to hide his annoyance.  
  
  
  
  
“Do you even care about me at all?” Sungmin demanded as his eyes flashed daggers at the commander.  
  
  
  
  
“I…I…” Kyuhyun started to stutter a reply when the sound of a throat clearing made him realize the elevator was open, and Nurse Heechul was standing there listening to every word.  
  
  
  
  
“Sorry, did I interrupt a lover’s spat?” The male nurse asked with a crooked smile.  
  
  
  
  
“No,” Sungmin answered, quickly taking a step back. “I have to get back to the bridge.”  
  
  
  
  
Kyuhyun closed his eyes in dread and stepped into the elevator with the difficult nurse. “Don’t even start with me.”  
  
  
  
  
The elevator doors shut, and Heechul turned to the commander and started laughing. “God, how you must regret tapping that ass.”  
  
  
  
  
“Deck 10,” Kyuhyun said ordering, the voice activated elevator.  He then turned and sneered at Heechul. “I am not in the mood. I have to get to the science lab and help Changmin. The captain is running out of time.”  
  
  
  
  
Heechul leaned against the elevator wall and gave Kyuhyun a look of scorn. “It’s your own fault. You should have left your dilly willy in your pants until you were over him.”  
  
  
  
  
The elevator came to a stop on the tenth deck and the door opened.

 

Kyuhyun inhaled a deep breath before getting off and turned to face Heechul with eyes much older than his face. “There are two problems with that statement. One, I will never be over him. Two, I enjoy sex too much.”  
  
  
  
  
*********************  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong awoke wrapped in comforting warm arms. His eyes flew open as he took in his surroundings. He was underneath a large tree, leaning against the man that had saved him. His body had already healed the internal damage he had suffered, and he knew with just a little more sleep he would be completely healed. He pushed away from the captain gently. He was still very sore from the hundreds of lashes he had received at the hands of the Zusaders. Jaejoong turned and faced his savior…his poor doomed savior. The man was leaning up against the tree, his face covered in sweat as the poison worked its way into his body through the multiple cuts he had received.  
  
  
  
  
He would make sure the poor man did not suffer from his fatal wounds. He would make sure he left his life dreaming of memories filled with happiness and immune to the pain. Jaejoong tenderly reached out to touch the man’s cheek, pausing when he noticed the man had placed his red jacket on him, covering his beaten body and his torn clothing. Jaejoong was filled with gratitude as he laid his hand against the man’s cheek.  
  
  
  
  
With the touch of his hand against the man’s face, the telepathic gateway opened and Jaejoong was shocked to discover that the man had all but been rescued…but instead of fleeing to safety he had answered a cry for help. Jaejoong jerked his hand away from the man and covered his mouth with both hands as an all-consuming feeling of sadness and guilt flooded him. Jaejoong fought to keep his sobs hidden as tears streamed down his face. He hated that so many must always suffer because of him.  
  
  
  
  
“Don’t cry. It’s going to be okay,” the man told him, shocking Jaejoong. He had not even sensed the man awakening.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong reached up, wiped his eyes, and spoke in the man’s language with ease. “You could have escaped.”  
  
  
  
  
The man smiled at him. “This way we both get to escape.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong let out a small sigh as he reached up and touched the man’s forehead that was burning up in fever. “You look very tired…perhaps you should sleep.”  
  
  
  
  
“You should rest…I am sorry I couldn’t have gotten there sooner.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong shook his head. “I will be okay…I heal fast. You should rest…you are burning up with fever.”  
  
  
  
  
“You are practically a bloody pulp…you should sleep. I won’t let anybody else hurt you. It will be okay,” the man assured him as he reached for his communicator. “I have to be awake so when my crew breaks through the interference I can communicate with them.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong leaned back into the man’s arms, not wanting to argue with him. The man was so decent it made Jaejoong physically ill to know he would soon be dead. Against Jaejoong’s better judgment he found his telepathy seeping into the man’s mind. He knew knowing this man better would only make him feel guiltier in the end, but if someday he could meet this man’s crew he wanted to tell them of the man’s great bravery.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong gently entered the man’s memories and the first and most powerful memory he came upon was of a terrible disaster upon the man’s ship…the Expectations. A year ago, they had encountered a space anomaly while trying to save one of their shuttle crafts that had been sucked inside it. The anomaly had deposited them millions of light years away from their known space. The journey had killed all the females and the older male members of the crew aboard the ship. Nobody older than thirty Earth years had survived the journey. This man…Yunho… had stepped up and gathered the shattered and broken crew around him, giving them the strength to carry on. He had taken command and turned an impossible situation into a grand journey of exploration, while at the same time always searching for the way home.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong broke free of Yunho’s mind…Yunho was too tempting. He was wonderful in all the ways Jaejoong enjoyed. Yunho wasn’t perfect by any means but he always tried his best. He was heroic and good….and yet he could be terribly stubborn. Jaejoong knew he could spend his life with this man. Jaejoong turned around in Yunho’s arms until he was looking up at him. Yunho was very handsome, too. Yunho had no idea what Jaejoong was…he did not save him for any other reason than because he needed saving.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong stared up at this man and knew he would give him willingly what so many before had tried to coerce and take from him. Jaejoong knew instinctively that Yunho was the one for him. Jaejoong willingly released his pheromones for the first time in his life.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong waited for the pheromones to take effect, and he did not have to wait long. He felt Yunho shifting underneath him and then watched as Yunho looked down at him uncomfortably. “Umm…I might need to take a walk.”  
  
  
  
  
_“Don’t leave me,”_  Jaejoong whispered to the other man’s mind.  
  
  
  
  
“I really need to get up.” Yunho started to push him away, causing Jaejoong to sit up and wrap his arms around Yunho’s neck.  
  
  
  
  
He snuggled up close to Yunho and released more pheromones. Jaejoong pressed his knee against the other man’s groin and felt his hardness. _“Yunho, please don’t leave me.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho struggled to breathe as he fought against overwhelming feelings of desire that were starting to consume him. He had never felt anything so powerful in his whole life, but it was wrong…so wrong. This woman had just been beaten savagely. Yunho found his strength and pushed Jaejoong off him as he climbed to his shaky feet. “I am so sorry. I just need to get away from you.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong’s eyes widened in amazement as he lay on the ground and looked up at Yunho. He watched Yunho fight against the massive amounts of pheromones that would have had a lesser man already thrusting inside of him. Jaejoong admired the man’s decency but they were running out of time, so he released more pheromones and watched as Yunho crumbled to the ground beside him. _“It’s okay…I want you, too.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho looked down upon the beaten, bloody woman laid out in front of him and asked in desperation even as he pulled down his pants, “How could you want this?”  
  
  
  
  
_“Please,”_  Jaejoong pleaded mentally as he felt Yunho’s body weakening against the poison that flowed through it. They did not have much time. He sighed in relief as Yunho crawled over to him, placing himself directly on top of him. Yunho’s eyes that were consumed with a fire of Jaejoong’s own making, leered down at Jaejoong with pure lust. Yunho bent down and hungrily kissed him as one hand reached down and ripped away what was left of Jaejoong’s dress and felt between his legs.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho jerked his head up and stared down into Jaejoong’s large, beautiful, blue eyes in surprise. “Are you a man or a woman?”  
  
  
  
  
_“I am both, right now,”_  Jae told him mentally as he reached his arms up and wrapped them around Yunho’s neck, pulling him back down for a kiss. Jaejoong cried out in pain and bit down on Yunho’s lip as the man pushed into his virgin body.  
  
  
  
  
**************  
  
  
  
  
Later when Yunho woke, he closed his eyes tighter as he was filled with a horrible sense of shame. His mind was very fuzzy, but he could not escape the shame of violating that woman. What the hell had overcome him? He was not the type of man to take advantage of half-dead, tortured, defenseless women.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho felt his pants still around his ankles, and he knew he had to deal with the consequences of his dishonorable actions. He opened his eyes and saw the sun was about to set. He tilted his head to the side where he could feel another body pressed up against his own. Yunho sat up immediately when he noticed the body next to him did not have long blonde hair, but instead much shorter black hair. His eyes widened in shock as he realized it was a man sleeping next to him. The man was covered in sweat and he trembled in his sleep as if he were fighting some great internal battle.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho stood up immediately and pulled up his pants. He pulled out his communicator and frowned when he found that it still wasn’t working. He looked around for the blonde woman that he had violated and couldn’t find her. Yunho had taken a step away from the other sleeping man when dizziness overtook him, and he fell to the ground. Yunho had never felt so dizzy in his life…it was crippling. With the dizziness came a wave of nausea.  
  
  
  
  
_“Come closer.”_  
  
  
  
  
The mental command was heard clearly through Yunho’s fuzzy, dizzy head. Yunho looked at the man covered in sweat whose trembling had increased. Yunho now noticed the man was wearing his Starfleet jacket…the jacket Yunho had given to the woman. Yunho reached up and felt all over his head for a bump…clearly something was wrong with his head.  
  
  
  
  
_“Please.”_  

 

 

Yunho watched as the man reached out his trembling hand toward him. Yunho’s eyes narrowed suspiciously but he took the offered hand. Yunho was very pleased to discover that the dizziness immediately disappeared. He watched as the other man’s body slowly stopped trembling. Yunho, who was often oblivious to his own wellbeing, noticed that the cuts that had covered him earlier were gone. In fact, other than the mental fuzziness, he felt perfect now that the dizziness had disappeared.  
  
  
  
  
_“Sleep.”_  
  
  
  
  
This time the other man tried to pull Yunho down next to him with his hand, but Yunho resisted easily. “Who are you? Where is the woman?” The other man’s eyes snapped open for the first time. Yunho gasped at the familiarity of the beautiful eyes looking up at him. Beautiful eyes; they were a different color, but the beauty was the same.  
  
  
  
  
_“How can you be so strong? Where does the strength come from?”_  
  
  
  
  
“You didn’t answer my question. Who are you?” Yunho asked, still holding on to the other man’s hand. Yunho suddenly remembered that the beautiful blonde woman had not been entirely a woman at all…she had been both.  
  
  
  
  
_“I am her that you seek.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho winced as what he had suspected was confirmed. “I am very sorry for what I did…but I have to get out of here. I have to find a way back to my ship.”  
  
  
  
  
The other man sat up while still clinging to Yunho’s hand.  _“You need not be sorry, I instigated your actions. I will help you find a way back to your ship, but I must rest. My body is going through a transformation and it’s very weak.”_  
  
  
  
  
“You instigated?” Yunho stared at the person in front of him as another idea came to him. “Did you heal me?”  
  
  
  
  
_“Yes, and in order to heal you I had to seduce you. I am sorry for my actions, but please just rest for now,”_ the man pleaded mentally.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho stood up again, letting go of the hand. “I am very grateful to you, but I have got to get back to my ship. Also, there are hostile Zusaders on this planet and I’d rather they not find us right now.”  
  
  
  
  
_“You can’t leave me.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho looked down at the man. “I wouldn’t leave you like this, but we can’t stay here either. Can you walk?”  
  
  
  
  
The other man frowned and slowly climbed to his very shaky feet. _“I am not sure.”_  
  
  
  
  
“You are standing and that is always a plus. We will just go slowly,” Yunho instructed happily as he took a step forward and immediately was overcome by intense dizziness resulting in him falling again.  
  
  
  
  
_“Perhaps now you will follow my advice and rest a little longer.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho lifted his dizzy head from the ground and noticed the other man had fallen too. Yunho studied the other man intently and then stretched out his hand until he was touching the other man’s leg, causing the dizziness to immediately clear. “Is it a proximity thing between us?”  
  
  
  
  
_“Yes.”_  
  
  
  
  
“Well you could have told me that,” Yunho complained as he grabbed both of the other man’s arms and pulled him to his feet. Yunho smiled when he didn’t feel the slightest bit dizzy.  
  
  
  
  
_“My mind isn’t exactly clear right now.”_  
  
  
  
  
“Mine neither, but I have to find a lazy, good for nothing, slimy, backstabbing trader. He’s going to get me back to my ship. I can’t sit here and wait to be rescued,” Yunho told the other man as he tugged him forward in a northerly direction.  
  
  
  
  
_“I really hope you know what you are doing.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho paused as he came upon a thick undergrowth of trees and turned back to the other man. “Ummm…you might want to use that jacket to cover your….”  
  
  
  
  
_“What?”_  
  
  
  
  
“There are a lot of thorns on those trees…and what is your name?” Yunho asked suddenly, realizing he didn’t even know this man’s name.  
  
  
  
  
_“My name is Jaejo…my name is Jae.”_  
  
  
  
  
“Hello Jae,” Yunho told him as he unzipped his jacket that Jaejoong was wearing. “There are certain parts of the body that you wouldn’t want to get pricked by these thorns.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong’s eyes lit up with amusement as he stood helplessly clinging to Yunho’s arms while the other man slid his jacket off Jaejoong’s shoulders. He then wrapped it around Jaejoong’s waist. _“I can’t even read your mind. My head is such a jumbled mess.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho finished tying his jacket around the other man’s waist and smiled at him. “Well I don’t want you reading my mind, so that’s a plus for me.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong frowned.  _“Why not?”_  
  
  
  
  
“It’s rude for one thing, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t read it,” Yunho told him as he took the man’s hand and led him through the brush.  
  
  
  
  
_“Rude? I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just a way of communicating.”_  
  
  
  
  
“It isn’t really, because I can’t read your mind. It’s a one-way communication and it’s rude. Speaking to me mentally isn’t exactly rude, but if somebody saw us they might think I was crazy.”  
  
  
  
  
_“Mentally is easier…I’m so tired,”_  Jaejoong confessed, walking very closely behind Yunho while holding his hand.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho snapped a tree branch in half that was in the way and asked, “Did healing me make you weaker?”  
  
  
  
  
_“Yes, among other things…”_  
  
  
  
  
“Other things?”  
  
  
  
  
_“Do you even know where you are taking us?”_  
  
  
  
  
“Yes, it’s a small shack the trader has on this planet. He left me there a week ago. When he comes back I am going to be waiting for him,” Yunho answered, deciding to let the ‘other things’ go for now. He had to get back to his ship. Jaejoong was not only a mysterious being, but a mysterious being that had gone out of his way to help him...even if Yunho wasn’t exactly comfortable about how he had gone about it. Yunho tried not to focus on Jaejoong and the mysterious happenings; he tried to focus only on getting back to his ship.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho continued toward the shack, not wanting to stop for anything. Night came but the planet’s four moons shone brightly, lighting the way. An hour passed when Yunho noticed that Jaejoong, who was following closely behind him, was stumbling more and more. Yunho stopped and both of Jaejoong’s arms immediately wrapped around him as he leaned into Yunho’s back in exhaustion. “Do I need to carry you?”  
  
  
  
  
_“Yes…that would be nice…”_  Jaejoong’s weakened mental voice answered.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho bent down and patted his back, motioning for Jaejoong to climb on. “When we get there, you can sleep.”  
  
  
  
  
_“We can sleep,”_  Jaejoong clarified, climbing on to Yunho’s back and wrapping his legs around Yunho’s waist while and his arms went around Yunho’s neck.  
  
  
  
  
“If he is not there we can rest while I wait for him,” Yunho reluctantly agreed, not wanting to argue with the exhausted man that he was now carrying with ease.  
  
  
  
  
_“This is so much better,”_ Jaejoong whispered mentally as he snuggled into Yunho.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho smirked. “I bet it is.”  
  
  
  
  
_“I will sleep…now.”_  
  
  
  
  
“Sleep while you can,” Yunho told him as he continued on his path. After another hour of walking he was shocked to find that carrying Jaejoong did not tire him out. To be honest, he felt stronger carrying him. Whatever Jaejoong had done to him in order to heal him definitely rewarded close proximity. Jaejoong was not a small man. He was very thin, but he wasn’t tiny by any means. Yunho should have felt the extra weight of carrying him, but instead he felt stronger and the fuzz in his mind seemed to be clearing a little. Yunho couldn’t help but wonder when it was going to wear off completely though. He couldn’t spend the rest of his life in direct contact with this man.  
  
  
  
  
                                                            **********************  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong awoke when he heard a screechy old door being shut. Jaejoong opened his eyes to find himself in a run-down shack that was dimly lit by the moonlight shining through the windows. Yunho was still carrying him and he could feel the other man’s agitation.  _“What’s wrong?”_  
  
  
  
  
“Jae, what did I say about rudeness?” Yunho asked as he walked over to a small bed and sat down with Jaejoong still clinging to his back.  
  
  
  
  
_“I have no control over my empathic abilities. I am not reading your mind.”_  
  
  
  
  
“You can get off now,” Yunho gently told Jaejoong as he patted the arms wrapped around his neck.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong frowned, knowing better but he knew Yunho would have to come to his own understanding.  _“Okay.”_  
  
  
  
  
“The trader isn’t here and his ship is still gone,” Yunho explained as he rubbed his face with the palms of his hands in frustration.  
  
  
  
  
_“Oh,”_  Jaejoong muttered mentally as he lay down on the bed while keeping one hand firmly clasped around Yunho’s arm.  
  
  
  
  
Yunho stood up pulling free of Jaejoong’s hand. “We just have to hope he comes back soon.”  
  
  
  
  
_“It is night… we should sleep.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho pulled out his communicator and tried it again but only got static. Yunho frowned at the communicator and looked down at Jaejoong who he wasn’t in contact with. Yunho then very tentatively took a step away from the bed and sighed in relief as he wasn’t immediately overcome with a feeling of dizziness. “This is better.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong sat up on the bed.  _“Be careful.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho took another step and smiled. “The link is getting weaker.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong shook his head.  _“No, it’s getting stronger.”_  
  
  
  
  
“Stronger? I am several feet from you and I am still vertical. It’s getting weaker,” Yunho said, taking another step away from the bed.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong reached out his hand for Yunho.  _“You are really pushing it now. If you fall I doubt I will have the strength to crawl to you.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho, who was suddenly feeling dizzy and nauseated, took a step back toward Jaejoong and took his outstretched hand. “It’s getting better though. I was a good six feet away from you.”  
  
  
  
  
_“It’s because you carried me…the closer we are the stronger it gets,”_  Jaejoong explained as he lay back down on the bed and pulled up an old, brown blanket to cover himself with.  
  
  
  
  
“So…what should we…do…to make it stronger?” Yunho paused as he sat back down on the bed and looked at Jaejoong in dread.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong smiled and pulled Yunho by the arm until he was lying down beside him and covered him with the brown blanket as well. _“We should sleep…closely together.”_  
  
  
  
  
“That’s all,” Yunho said, clearly relieved.  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong laughed and wrapped his arms tightly around Yunho, while he tangled his legs in Yunho’s too.  _“I am all out of pheromones, and you wouldn’t exactly be willing.”_  
  
  
  
  
“No,” Yunho admitted. “I have already surpassed my intimacy comfort level with you. I still can’t believe I actually…..”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong could feel Yunho’s discomfort and decided to change the subject. Yunho was not ready for some truths.  _“This trader that stranded you here, why were you with him?”_  
  
  
  
  
“He offered to return me to my ship…for a reward; but then he went treasure hunting instead and we ended up on this planet.”  
  
  
  
  
_“Treasure hunting?”_  
  
  
  
  
“Yes, he said there was an unimaginable treasure on this planet and he had to find it.”  
  
  
  
  
_“Did he describe this treasure?”_  
  
  
  
  
“No…” Yunho fought against his urge to flee as Jaejoong intertwined their fingers together very intimately. “He just wanted to get it before a Warlord came after it.”  
  
  
  
  
_“ZhouMi?”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho turned in the bed to face Jaejoong. “Yes, how did you know?”  
  
  
  
  
_“I’m the treasure,”_  Jaejoong informed Yunho, watching the other man’s mouth fall open. _“I’m highly sought after in this galaxy.”  
_  
  
  
  
“Why are you highly sought after?”  
  
  
  
  
_“Men like the Warlord ZhouMi think that if they can possess me then…they can control my abilities.”_  
  
  
  
  
“What if he finds you?”  
  
  
  
  
_“He wouldn’t know me now if I was standing in front of him. I have taken on the characteristics of your people. I have basically become a human male of your species,”_  Jaejoong explained, moving his head closer to Yunho until their noses were almost touching.  
  
  
  
  
“There is so much I don’t understand about you.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong gently kissed Yunho on the lips causing Yunho to jerk his head back.  _“You were dying. The whips the Zusaders were using were coated with a deadly poison. Do you remember your fever…how awful you felt?”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho’s eyes that had hardened after the kiss did not leave Jaejoong’s as he nodded his head. “I remember.”  
  
  
  
  
_“My people are not in the habit of saving others not of our kind…it is impossible to heal someone unless we are bonded, or if we share the same blood.”_  
  
  
  
  
Yunho tightened his hand that was intertwined with Jaejoong. “Are we bonded?”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong nodded his head.  _“It was the only way I could save you. I had intended to stay with you till you died. I had planned on making your passing easier for you. I couldn’t save you…not because I am cruel, but because a bond should not be established if done for merciful reasons alone.”_  
  
  
  
  
“Then for what reason?” Yunho asked swallowing, knowing he was not going to like the answer.  
  
  
  
  
_“You had not forbidden my telepathy then and I touched your mind…and I knew I could never let you die,”_ Jaejoong answered craftily, having mercy on the overwhelmed Starship Captain.  
  
  
  
  
“Why could you never let me die?” Yunho insisted as he stared into large almond eyes…eyes that had already answered his question.  
  
  
  
  
“Do you need to hear that I loved you the instant my mind read yours?” Jaejoong asked him verbally aloud, making Yunho sit up in the bed nervously. “You saved me instinctively for no other reason than because I needed saving, but I saved you for another reason. I saved you because out of everybody I have ever met…you are the only one that I could never live without.”  
  
  
  
  
Yunho looked suddenly ill as he avoided eye contact with Jaejoong. “You got all of that from a little mind rape…speaking of rape, why?”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong rolled over onto his back and sighed. “There was no rape…unless I raped you. I released the pheromones that triggered your sexual appetite.”  
  
  
  
  
“Why?”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong reached a hand up and ran a finger up Yunho’s arm. “I can only heal you if we are bonded, and the fastest way for us to bond is by having intercourse...I needed your DNA, so my body could adapt to this form and complete the bonding process.”  
  
  
  
  
Yunho turned back to Jaejoong. “But you don’t look like me.”  
  
  
  
  
“Your DNA has the history of all your people inside it. I didn’t clone you. I am not human…I might look it, and I might even fool some of the most highly advanced technology in the universe, but I am not human.”  
  
  
  
  
Yunho groaned and lay back down on the bed beside Jaejoong. “Changmin is going to kill me.”  
  
  
  
  
Jaejoong rolled over onto his side and pressed up closely to Yunho again. “Who is Changmin?”  
  
  
  
  
Yunho didn’t resist as Jaejoong took his hand again. “I thought you read my mind; how can you not know who Changmin is?”  
  
  
  
  
“I didn’t have enough time to do a thorough study. I just saw glimpses of a black hole and terrible loss…and you taking command. During the actual bonding process, I am sure I knew everything there was to ever know about you…but sadly that is always lost,” Jaejoong explained, closing his eyes and snuggling in as close as he could get.  
  
  
  
  
“Sadly…I think not. A person’s whole life shouldn’t be so easily read,” Yunho said, disagreeing with Jaejoong.  
  
  
  
  
_“Our lives are bound together forever now. I would never hurt you…I would just have to heal you,”_ Jaejoong whispered mentally again as sleep tried to pull him under.  
  
  
  
  
“Lives,” Yunho groaned...what had he gotten into?  
  
  
  
  
_“Rest and when you wake up, maybe you can get a good twelve feet away from me,”_  Jaejoong told him mentally, greatly amused at his mate’s anguish.  
  
  
  
  
“Twelve feet,” Yunho said aloud, verbalizing his new goal as he tilted his head into Jaejoong’s, relenting for the moment  
  
  
  
  
*********************  
  
  
  
  
“I want a new plan for rescuing the Captain that doesn’t involve destroying the planet’s atmosphere,” Commander Cho ordered while glaring at Lieutenant Jung, who also happened to be the ship’s Science Officer. They were sitting with the other senior officers at a table inside the Officer’s Lounge.  
  
  
  
  
Lieutenant Jung glared back at him. “I don’t want to destroy it.”  
  
  
  
  
“You just want to shoot a big hole in it…not destroy it,” Security Chief Sungmin clarified. He was also very eager to get the captain off the hostile planet.  
  
  
  
  
Lieutenant Jung looked at the Security Chief. “Exactly, and we will probably be able to fix the hole.”  
  
  
  
  
“Probably?” Commander Cho snapped. “The Captain would not risk a planet for his own wellbeing and he would not approve of us doing so either.”  
  
  
  
  
“No, he wouldn’t,” The Chief Engineer Yoochun agreed.  
  
  
  
  
“So we just leave him there?” Lieutenant Jung demanded. “He wouldn’t leave any of us behind.”  
  
  
  
  
“Changmin, I know you are worried. I know how much the Captain means to you…but we can’t break our oaths as Star Fleet officers,” Commander Cho said, trying to reason with the upset lieutenant.  
  
  
  
  
“I am no more worried than I would be if it were any of you stranded on the planet,” the Science officer insisted, offended by the commander’s comment.  
  
  
  
  
Nurse Heechul, who had said nothing so far during the meeting, snorted.  
  
  
  
  
“Nurse, is that nec—” Commander Cho was interrupted when Ensign Junsu’s, the ship’s helmsman, excited voice suddenly announced over the intercom.  
  
  
  
  
“Commander, there is a ship approaching the planet.”  
  
  
  
  
“We will be right there,” Commander Cho stated as he flew to his feet and hurried out of the Officer’s Lounge onto the bridge that connected to it. Lieutenant Jung was right beside him.  
  
  
  
  
“Commander, it’s the trader; he is returning to the planet,” the navigator, Ensign Eunhyuk, informed him excitedly.  
  
  
  
  
“The trader left the planet, and now he is returning? He must know of a way past the atmosphere,” Lieutenant Jung said, taking back control of the science station on the bridge.  
  
  
  
  
“Intercept that ship,” Commander Cho ordered.


	2. Chapter 2

Jaejoong stirred as he felt a human presence enter his awareness. Jaejoong reluctantly pulled himself from Yunho’s arms and nudged him.  _“Somebody is coming.”_  
  
Yunho awoke instantly, getting up from the bed. Yunho looked around the room, noticed the sunlight beaming from the windows and realized it was already morning. “Do you know who it is?”  
  
Jaejoong shook his head as he watched Yunho take tentative steps away from him and toward the door.  _“No, your presence is drowning out almost everything else. He is almost upon us.”_  
  
Yunho surprisingly made it toward the door without being overcome with dizziness. A good fifteen feet at least, he thought proudly. He waited behind the door, ready for the person to enter the shack.  
  
The door swung open and a fat man with curly, blond hair strolled into the room. Jaejoong snarled in immediate distaste as he recognized the man as one of the traders that dealt with the Warlord ZhouMi.  
  
“Who the hell are you?” the man asked Jaejoong.  
  
“He’s with me, you, backstabbing asshole!” Yunho said, slamming the door shut behind the startled trader.  
  
“Now Captain, that’s harsh don’t you think? I mean, after I came back to save you and all,” the man said, turning around to face the captain as he cautiously backed away from him.  
  
“Harsh? You came back for me? You shouldn’t have left me in the first place, Shindong!” Yunho spat out the man’s name as if it was the worst profanity he knew.  
  
“There was an important matter I had to attend to,” Shindong explained as Yunho backed him up against the wall.  
  
“Did you find your treasure and go to reap the reward?”   
  
Shindong frowned sadly. “No, I couldn’t find it…but you could help me find it, Captain.”  
  
“I am not helping you find anything! You are going to take me to my ship!”  
  
“Captain, really? There is a poor innocent being on this planet…isn’t it your duty as a man of decency and honor to try and help it?”  
  
“Well, after you return me to my ship…I have no problem with you coming back and looking for it,” Yunho told him, careful not to give away any of his knowledge involving the so-called treasure.  
  
“Captain, like I said, there is an innocent being stuck on this planet….”  
  
“I’m the only innocent being stuck on this planet that I am concerned with at the moment,” Yunho interrupted to tell him.  
  
Shindong turned to stare at a half-naked Jaejoong who was still sitting on the bed wrapped in a blanket. “What about him?”  
  
“What about him?”  
  
“Who is he? Where did you find him? Your crew is about to suffer a stroke out of worry for you, and you have been sexing up this pretty boy in my home."  
  
Yunho glared at Shindong and stepped up closer to him. “I haven’t been sexing up anybody for your information…you talked to my crew!”  
  
“Yes, they are very worried about you, and that Science Officer of yours is downright hateful!” Shindong exclaimed, remembering his none too friendly conversation with the Starship Expectation’s crew before he slipped away from them.  
  
Yunho couldn’t help but smile. “Well, Changmin can get testy, and that’s no more than you deserve for stranding me here.”  
  
_“Changmin? Who is he?”_ Jaejoong asked again mentally as he felt Yunho’s spirits lift at the mention of the man.  
  
“Who is he?” Shindong insisted at the same time, pointing toward Jaejoong.  
  
Yunho looked at Jaejoong and back at Shindong. “He is a member of my crew, of course!”  
  
“How did he get down here?” Shindong asked in shock.  
  
“He was beamed down here, but unfortunately not all his clothes made it. He is lucky he still has his fingers,” Yunho answered, lying quickly. “The atmosphere caused lots of interference…we can’t risk trying it again.”  
  
Shindong nodded his head in understanding and looked at Jaejoong with pity. “So, you were the test dummy they sent down to make sure the transporters were safe for their precious captain.”  
  
Jaejoong just stared back at Shindong and nodded his head in agreement.  
  
“That isn’t exactly how it was,” Yunho said, moving closer to Jaejoong and sitting down next to him. “He volunteered.”  
  
“Whatever! Honorable people, my ass,” Shindong spat as he placed both of his hands on his hips. “The least you could do is help me find that poor Joong.”  
  
“Joong?” Yunho asked, curious now.  
  
“The treasure I was talking about is a magical being called a Joong,” Shindong explained, deciding honesty might be the best policy after all.  
  
“Magical?” Yunho asked, full of skepticism. Jaejoong was definitely full of mystery but many alien races were…and those mysteries could usually be explained in time with science.  
  
“They are the most highly sought-after beings in the entire galaxy. They say the Joongs were once an omnipotent race that reverted back to their physical forms. No science can clearly understand them. They are extremely telepathic beings, and if they take you as their mate…well let’s just say you are blessed in all sorts of ways,” Shindong told the two of them, growing more excited as he thought of the treasure he was seeking.  
  
“In what ways?” Yunho couldn’t help but ask, causing Jaejoong to flinch beside him.  
  
“They bond with you for life. Their mates never need a doctor, because a Joong can heal anything. They take the form of your ideal mate. And most importantly, it is rumored that they are great lovers…they know what you want before you know what you want…if you get what I mean,” Shindong said, winking at Yunho.  
  
Yunho suddenly felt sick again as he only focused on the first sentence of Shindong’s statement. “When you say bond for life…you don’t literally mean for life…do you?”  
  
Jaejoong sighed loudly and fell back on the bed.  
  
“Yes, I mean for life. If the Joong dies his mate dies, if the mate dies the Joong dies. There is no way of breaking the bond,” Shindong explained.  
  
“And people…want this?” Yunho sputtered, fighting the urge to run screaming.  
  
“Hell, yes. It’s the highest honor imaginable to have a Joong as a mate. Most Joongs would rather die than take a mate though, but I can’t help but hope for the best,” Shindong said, rubbing his hands together gleefully as he imagined a Joong mate of his very own.  
  
Jaejoong sat up on the bed again and massaged his troubled mate’s back, while staring at Shindong. “You think this Joong would take you as a mate?”  
  
Shindong blushed. “Well…I mean a man can hope. I think it would be very relieved that I didn’t give it back to ZhouMi. Gratitude could blossom into love.”  
  
“But the Captain and I would also not allow you to return the Joong to ZhouMi. Who is to say the Joong would not feel gratitude toward us instead?” Jae asked craftily, feeding into Shindong’s insecurities that he remembered well from their meetings in the past. “I am very beautiful, and the Captain is very handsome.”  
  
Shindong paled as he looked at the two of them, realizing the truth of Jaejoong’s words. “You know your ship is very worried for you…perhaps I should get you back to it.”  
  
Yunho, who had been knee deep in the horrific realization that he might be bonded to Jaejoong for the rest of his life snapped back to attention. “You should.”  
  
“Yeah, and then I can come back and look for the Joong…alone,” Shindong said, turning and looking though some old boxes.  
  
“We should hurry, so you can get back and start searching,” Yunho said, standing up and rubbing his hands together excitedly at the prospect of getting back to his ship.  
  
“True,” Shindong agreed as he turned back around and threw a large shirt at Jaejoong. “It’s not much but it’s better than nothing.”  
  
_“It’s filthy,”_  Jaejoong mentally complained to Yunho as he slipped the large shirt on and told Shindong, “Thanks.”  
  
Yunho turned to Jaejoong and grinned as he watched Jaejoong place his jacket over the large shirt. “It looks like a dress on you…an ugly dress.”  
  
_“Would you like me better if I wore dresses? I have no problem wearing whatever pleases you,”_  Jaejoong told Yunho, smirking as he noticed his mate’s face turn red.  
  
“Let’s go people. I don’t have all day,” Shindong ordered as he opened the door and headed out.  
  
Yunho hurried and headed after Shindong, causing Jaejoong to hurry and catch up with him and take his hand. _“I am not exactly on my game. Shindong is doing this of his own free will…I wouldn’t want him to find out I am the Joong he is searching for.”_  
  
Yunho frowned. “Shindong, if the Joong did take you as a mate….what would that mean? Would it still be valuable to others?”  
  
Shindong didn’t slow his pace as he hurried in the direction of his ship, but he happily answered Yunho. “Of course; they only mate for life, so there wouldn’t be any chance of anybody else becoming its bondmate, but it’s still highly telepathic. If somebody could get a hold of the Joong’s mate…then they could blackmail the Joong into doing whatever they wanted. They say the bond between the Joong and its mate keeps them tied closely together…that it’s physically painful for the Joong to be without its mate.”  
  
“Oh, well that sounds like more hassle than it’s worth to me,” Yunho protested, shortening his pace to keep from overtaking Shindong.  
  
_“Don’t ask him anything else or you will make him suspicious…and your distress might even be noticeable to him,”_  Jaejoong chastised as he tightened his grip on Yunho’s hand. _“If you want to know something I will tell you once we get back to your ship.”_  
  
“That’s easy for you to say, I’ve seen your ship and if I had a ship like that I probably wouldn’t want to be tied down to one person either,” Shindong told him as they approached the area where his ship was parked.  
  
“Speaking of ships, you didn’t stop and get any repairs along the way, did you?” Yunho asked hopefully as the clunker ship came into view. Shindong’s ship was small and it reminded Yunho of Shindong’s shack.  
  
“My ship is totally space worthy. It has gotten me out of more jams then you can possibly imagine,” Shindong grumbled defensively as he approached his ship.  
  
“We are going to get on that?” Jaejoong asked loudly as the appearance of the ship left him dumbfounded. “I think I would rather take my chances with the Zusaders.”  
  
“Listen here Princess, it might not be up to your grand standards, but it will get you back to your precious Starship,” Shindong snapped as he used his remote and lowered the docking ramp, so they could enter the ship. Jaejoong frowned because the docking ramp looked worse than the ship.  
  
“That’s all that matters,” Yunho said as he led Jaejoong up the shaky ramp and followed behind Shindong. Yunho prayed the docking ramp would hold them - it was a good twenty feet climb to the ship.  
  
“Also, don’t forget I want to be compensated for all my hard work,” Shindong grumbled, still angry about the insults his ship had taken as he stormed up the ramp ahead of them.  
  
“Of course, you will be well compensated,” Yunho assured him as the ramp gave way underneath him.  
  
*************  
  
Yunho awoke wrapped in Jaejoong’s arms as he rested against the other man’s chest. Yunho looked around and realized he was in a small cage with Jaejoong. “Fuck.”  
  
_“Well unfortunately we haven’t, except for that one time. Our bond is still in its infancy stages and my mind is still focused only on you. I am unable to take control of a certain trader’s mind and make him take us to your ship.”_  
  
Yunho looked up into Jaejoong’s face in surprise. “Jae, would that really have helped?”  
  
_“Yes.”_  
  
“You didn’t tell me.”  
  
_“You were freaking out enough.”_  
  
“What happened?”  
  
_“We fell…and luckily I fell on you, but you suffered from a head injury…and I flipped out and healed you…right in view of a certain traitor.”_  
  
“You gave us away?”  
  
_“Me…I…you had a head injury. It’s physically impossible for me not to heal you.”_  
  
“Was it bad?” Yunho asked, sitting up and reaching for the back of his head.  
  
Jaejoong darted his eyes away from Yunho guiltily.  _“No, but I didn’t know that. I just knew you were unconscious….you also broke your arm.”_  
  
Yunho looked down at the sleeves of his jacket and noticed this left sleeve was covered in blood. Yunho immediately pulled up his sleeve and saw no sign of injury on his arm. “You know the only doctor to survive on my ship kinda lost his mind and thinks he’s a female nurse now. Having you around might not be so bad.”  
  
Jaejoong reached up and touched Yunho’s face with the tips of his fingers. _“I can only heal you.”_  
  
Yunho smiled at him. “Lucky me.”  
  
_“You should let me kiss you.”_  
  
“Why?” Yunho asked, his eyes widening.  
  
_“Because I want to….so very much.”_  
  
Yunho turned away from Jaejoong and swallowed nervously. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”  
  
Jaejoong reached up and turned Yunho’s face until it was facing him again.  _“It’s a very good idea.”_  
  
“No, it isn’t. We have to focus on escaping now,” Yunho said, climbing to his feet. “How long was I out? Where is he taking us?”  
  
Jaejoong sighed in frustration and spoke aloud, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “Not long. He said there is some gambling event he wants to go to…he thinks I can cheat for him. He doesn’t realize that my telepathy is useless…because if it was working, he couldn’t take me anywhere against my will!”  
  
“He’s an idiot,” Yunho grumbled, still upset that he was once again at this man’s mercy. “Once I am free of…” Yunho stopped suddenly as a blast hit the ship, causing the whole ship to rock. Yunho clung to the bars of the cage. “Oh, just great!”  
  
_“Your ship wouldn’t fire…”_  
  
“No, it wouldn’t.”  
  
Jaejoong was suddenly up and had both arms wrapped around Yunho. _“We should have sex right now.”_  
  
“What!”  
  
_“It’s the fastest way to strengthen our bond, so I can sense something other than you! If it’s ZhouMi we will soon be space dust if we don’t hurry,”_ Jaejoong insisted as he turned Yunho around to face him.  
  
Yunho didn’t have to be told twice as he pulled Jaejoong into a desperate kiss…that he found much more pleasurable than he would have imagined. Another shot rocked the ship knocking Jaejoong and Yunho to the floor, but they did not stop kissing as their tongues explored each other’s mouths and their hands groped and clung to each other’s bodies as the force of the blast had them rolling around the cage.  
  
“I hate to interrupt the show, but I need your help,” Shindong yelled as he suddenly appeared and opened the cage’s door. Yunho and Jaejoong did not stop their ravenous kissing and groping until Shindong kicked Yunho in the leg. “Seriously now! There is a time and place but this isn’t it!”  
  
Yunho broke away from Jaejoong’s tempting lips and blinked his eyes, trying to focus on Shindong. “What do you want?” Yunho demanded in a husky voice…everything else forgotten except for the warm, inviting body underneath him.  
  
Jaejoong, who was under Yunho with one hand down Yunho’s pants, gasped as he glimpsed into Shindong’s mind. Jaejoong quickly pushed Yunho off of him as he hurried to his feet, pulling Yunho along with him. Jaejoong dashed out of the cage, answering for Shindong, “The engines are about to blow.”  
  
“That’s just wonderful! Who’s shooting at you?” Yunho demanded, trying to catch his breath as Jaejoong dragged him along.  
  
“ZhouMi,” Jaejoong answered.  
  
“The Warlord ZhouMi-that bastard. He isn’t exactly happy with me,” Shindong told Yunho as they hurried toward the bridge.  
  
“Where is my ship?” Yunho demanded as he entered the cramped bridge.  
  
Shindong hurried toward some controls that were burning and tried to put out the fire. “Unfortunately, it’s on the other side of the planet…and we are close enough to the planet’s atmosphere that it can’t detect us.”  
  
Jaejoong looked out the large screen at the end of the bridge that showed the ship of the man he detested. “Does he know you have me?”  
  
“No, he just thinks I double crossed him and tried to get you for myself,” Shindong explained as he finished putting out the fire.  
  
“Like you did,” Yunho couldn’t help but point out as he sat down at the helm and reviewed the ship’s damaged systems. He turned on the distress signal his ship couldn’t hear.  
  
“Let’s focus on surviving right now,” Shindong snapped at them. “Right now, he won’t fire. If he misses he might hit the planet and he still thinks the Joong is on it.”  
  
“Jae is his name,” Yunho snapped back at Shindong. “So he won’t fire, but my ship can’t detect us…this is just great.”  
  
“I know the code for his weapons systems,” Jaejoong offered, still glaring at the other ship through the screen.  
  
Yunho looked up in awe. “You can read that from here? We should have made out earlier.”  
  
Jaejoong turned and smiled at Yunho. “I just remember it from being on that blasted ship for so long.”  
  
“Well it doesn’t matter because I can’t hack into his systems and disable his weapons. I am not that skilled.”  
  
“I am,” Yunho informed them. “It’s rather simple. Jae, give me the code.”  
  
“Show off,” Shindong muttered as Jaejoong mentally sent Yunho the code and Yunho disabled the Warlord’s weapons. “So now what? The engines are gone and we are still helpless…your ship doesn’t know you are here.  
  
“There is enough juice left in the engines for us to break away from the atmosphere.”  
  
“Are you crazy? We will burn up in space!” Shindong screamed at Yunho, panicking at the thought.  
  
“We either burn up in space now, or we burn up later when we crash into that planet. If we break free of the atmosphere there is a good chance that my crew will hear our distress signal,” Yunho told Shindong. “Everybody, brace yourselves… this is going to be a bumpy ride.”  
  
“We are all going to die,” Shindong moaned as he strapped himself into his chair and prayed for the best.  
  
“We all gotta die someday,” Yunho told them as Jaejoong sat down on his lap and wrapped his arms around Yunho’s neck.  
  
_“I have faith in you.”_  
  
“Here’s hoping your faith isn’t wasted,” Yunho said wistfully as he hit the controls, sending the small craft plummeting into space.  
  
“It won’t be,” Jaejoong whispered encouragingly as the ship shook all over, the front screen flickered off and on, and panels started blowing up in front of them.  
  
“My poor ship,” Shindong moaned miserably. “My mother will never know what happened to me. My poor ship and my poor mother.”  
  
Yunho looked down at the controls and wrapped an arm tightly around Jaejoong’s waist. “Guess there isn’t any chance you can heal us after we have been blown into space dust?”  
  
Jaejoong shook his head and kissed Yunho’s cheek.  _“No, but I would still rather die in space with you than live anywhere else without you.”_  
  
Yunho smiled bitter-sweetly at Jaejoong and he felt real regret that he wouldn’t get to know him better. “That’s good since we are about to be blown to pieces in less than….”  
  
The screen in front of the bridge came to life, and Yunho’s whole body relaxed as Kyuhyun appeared on the screen and his voice was heard throughout the ship. “This is Commander Cho of the Starship Expectations. We have answered your distress call, prepare to be beamed aboard.”  
  
“Commander, now would be a goo….” the captain’s voice faded away as he, Jaejoong, and Shindong were beamed to safety right before the ship exploded.  
  
  
**************  
  
Jaejoong suddenly found himself on board another ship, and the sense of relief…happiness he felt radiating off of Yunho let him know that he was aboard the Expectations. The ship was huge and sparkling with life. Jaejoong could feel the buzz of a hundred minds or more, and he watched as two young men smiled happily at Yunho.  
  
“Captain, it is so good to have you back,” one of the young men said, coming around from the panel where he had been standing.  
  
“Transporter Chief…Donghae it’s good to be back,” Yunho said, stepping off the platform with a huge grin on his face. Yunho then turned to the man standing beside the one called Donghae. “Sungmin, that man is under arrest. Put him in the brig,” Yunho told Sungmin as he pointed toward Shindong.  
  
“Captain, is that any way to treat your savior?” Shindong asked, hurrying down from the transporter platform to plead with the captain.  
  
“Savior? You’ll be lucky if I don’t shoot you out an airlock,” Yunho told Shindong as Sungmin took the trader by the arm.  
  
Jaejoong watched as another man he recognized from minutes earlier flew through the door. “Captain, you are a difficult man to rescue!”  
  
“You did a great job of it, Commander. Perfect timing,” Yunho told him as he reached up and clasped Commander Cho firmly by the shoulder.  
  
“I had help,” Commander Cho said, grinning up at his captain.  
  
“Speaking of help, where is my Changmin?” Yunho asked, causing Jaejoong to frown. Jaejoong had never managed to get an answer to his questions where Changmin was concerned.  
  
“Oh, on the bridge being completely logical, and looking down on all of us for our emotional displays. Of course, finally getting you back is no big deal to him,” Commander Cho explained to the captain, but his eyes had focused on Jaejoong.  
  
“Of course not,” Yunho agreed with a grin full of fondness as he thought of Changmin. Yunho then followed the commander’s gaze back to Jaejoong.  
  
“And who is this?” the commander asked.  
  
“This is Jae, and I owe my life to him,” Yunho said, reaching out his hand for Jaejoong.  
  
Jaejoong sighed with a huge relief as he stepped off the transporter platform and took Yunho’s hand. “And I owe my life to you.”  
  
Commander Cho grinned at Jaejoong. “Jae, anybody who saves the Captain is welcome aboard this ship.”  
  
“That’s a good thing because he is going to be staying…for a while.” Yunho said uneasily, making Commander Cho do a double take.  
  
“Staying?”  
  
“It’s a long story…I will of course give everybody a thorough briefing, but until then…”  
  
“We must be getting to the sickbay,” Commander Cho interrupted to tell the Captain.  
  
“Sickbay?” The Captain asked in obvious disdain.  
  
“It’s standard procedure. I was just recently reminded of it by a certain Lieutenant Jung…and you know how Changmin gets if we don’t follow policy exactly,” Commander Cho said as he motioned the Captain through the doors.  
  
“Oh, I know,” Yunho grumbled, not releasing Jaejoong’s hand. If Yunho had been paying better attention to Jaejoong he would have noticed how the other man had noticeably paled.

  
  
**************

  
  
Jaejoong lay on his bed in the sickbay, lying on his side almost completely covered up by his blanket, but his eyes never left Yunho. He watched as crew member after crew member came in to welcome Yunho back, who was in the other bed in the room. It was almost as if they had to touch him…a warm hug, a squeeze of the leg, or a gentle pat on the arm to be reassured of the continued existence of their beloved captain. It didn’t take a telepath to know how loved Yunho was by his crew.  
  
The nurse that Yunho had warned him about earlier would occasionally come in the room and run everybody off as he fussed over the captain and cursed his equipment that refused to give him any pertinent information about Jaejoong. Jaejoong couldn’t make himself care about Nurse Heechul though, there was only one name running though his mind…Changmin.  
  
The nice commander had called him Lieutenant Jung….Jung. Jaejoong’s memory of Yunho’s first introduction rang loudly in his mind. Changmin and his mate shared a name. This horrified Jaejoong to the very core of his being. He hated that his mind was still fuzzy, emotionally drained and overwhelmed by this ship full of people. He wanted to know Changmin’s connection to Yunho, but then again, he feared the truth.  
  
Jaejoong couldn’t help but remember that Yunho had only shown any attraction to him when he was under the influence of pheromones or when he thought his life depended on it. On Shindong’s ship he had refused to kiss Jaejoong, and only when Jaejoong had said their escape depended on it did Yunho show any interest in him. Jaejoong feared that he had bonded with a man who was already committed to another.  
  
Jaejoong wanted to cry, because it seemed like it had been the longest two days in the history of the universe. In those two days he had been tortured and found the love of his life. If he had to share Yunho…well he would rather be tortured by the Zusaders than share Yunho.  
  
“Hey, why so sad looking?”  
  
Jaejoong jumped, startled to find that Yunho had gotten out of bed and was standing beside him. “Just tired,” Jaejoong forced the words out verbally. He would try his best to be more respectful to Yunho’s ways.  
  
“Are you sure that’s all?” Yunho asked, running a hand through Jaejoong’s hair. “Heechul is a bitch to almost everyone…it’s not personal.”  
  
Jaejoong sat up in bed and shook his head. “It has nothing to do with him. I am just worn out.”  
  
Yunho wiped away a tear that glided down Jaejoong’s cheek. “You should sleep then.”  
  
“I can’t,” Jaejoong explained, trying to fight the urge to sob as he reached up and took Yunho’s hand. “Yunho, I have to know. Who is…” Jaejoong stopped suddenly as he felt joy radiating off Yunho again. Jaejoong looked up quickly and followed Yunho’s gaze to a very tall, handsome young man standing in the doorway.  
  
“Yunho, I am pretty sure you are supposed to be in bed,” the young man told Yunho.  
  
Yunho chuckled. “Changmin, what did I tell you about respect? That’s Captain Yunho to you.”  
  
Changmin snorted and walked over to Jaejoong’s bed where the captain stood. “I read your report…it was unusual. So, this is the poor soul you managed to get yourself bonded to?”  
  
“Hey don’t knock it till you try it,” Yunho joked as he pulled Changmin into a tight hug. Jaejoong just stared at them in wide-eyed amazement…it couldn’t be possible.  
  
Changmin broke away from the hug, acting as if he disliked the contact, but Jaejoong smiled knowing differently. “I more than others, have reason to be concerned with your continued relationships with ‘women’ in the future.”  
  
“You haven’t been zapped out of existence yet,” Yunho told Changmin as he reached down and took Jaejoong’s hand.  
  
“Keep gathering male bond-mates and I am sure it will happen any day now. And since when did you like men?” Changmin asked, studying the beautiful man who was holding the captain’s hand.  
  
“Go. I need to sleep. It’s been a long week,” Yunho said, avoiding Changmin’s question.  
  
Jaejoong watched with amazed, loving eyes as he watched Yunho shoo Changmin from the room and shut the door behind him.  _“He’s your son!”_  
  
Yunho nodded his head at Jaejoong as he climbed back in the bed assigned to him. “That he is, but he’s always been more of a brother.”  
  
_“How is it even possible?”_  
  
“I don’t know.”  
  
_“He’s your age.”_  
  
“He’s actually two years younger than me…well, as best we can tell,” Yunho answered as he got under his covers.  
  
_“I don’t understand,”_  Jaejoong whispered mentally as he slipped out of his bed and walked to Yunho’s bed.  
  
Yunho looked up at the man standing at his bedside. “When I was four years old he showed up on my family’s doorstep. Tests showed that he was biologically my son. My parents were shocked to say the least.”  
  
_“That’s just amazing…how does something like that happen?”_  Jae asked as he reached out a hand and cupped Yunho’s face.  
  
“As far as we can tell it’s some kind of time travel,” Yunho answered as he scooted to the edge of the bed, lying on his side. He pulled back the blanket, inviting Jaejoong to sleep with him.  
  
Jaejoong smiled brightly and slid into the bed facing away from Yunho and also lying on his side.  _“Thank you.”_  
  
Yunho wrapped an arm around Jaejoong and pulled the other man to him. “These beds aren’t meant for two people.”  
  
Jaejoong couldn’t have wiped the smile from his face if he had tried.  _“Then we will just have to be one.”_  
  
Jaejoong could feel Yunho smiling into his hair. “Let’s just work on not falling out of bed for now.”  
  
“I love you,” Jaejoong told Yunho aloud because those words were too important to be spoken in silent whispers of the mind. Jaejoong knew Yunho would not reply…yet; but he couldn’t stop smiling as Yunho pulled him closer.  Jaejoong felt the beginnings of a great love taking root all around him. He knew that his journey with Yunho had just begun and he couldn't wait for more.


End file.
